In the culture and tradition of the basketball world, everybody knows Michael Jordan, Air Jordan or His Airness, and Kobe Bryant, Black Mamba. Greatness is what these two players define simply because of their work ethics. They are so determined to be the best of the bests, and without a doubt, one has been and one is now. Basketball is a major sport in this world, as years pass on and on more people are engaged to it so one could imagine how hard it is to be a good player, not mentioning the best of the players. These two athletes are insanely great and talented; they both have some similarities and differences to be shared upon. Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant are going to be analyzed for comparison and contrast based on their offensive skills, effectiveness in clutch moments, and leaderships.
Offensive skills play a big role in basketball because these skills are required for scoring. These skills are dunking, shooting, driving, passing, creating (fouls) and posting-up. Basketball is a sport in which the team that makes the most points win. Michael Jordan was a shooting guard who could also play the position of small forward (“Michael Jordan”). Offensively, Jordan was very skillful because he could score at will at a high percentage (“Michael Jordan”). He could drive easily to the basket and draw fouls; his 8772 free throw attempts are ninth all time(“Michael Jordan”). One of his offensive skills, post-up, had developed into an unstoppable force (“Michael Jordan”). Michael Jordan was said to have the greatest offensive skills of all time. He was able to take jump shots, do dunks and make lay-ups. As for jump shots, he could take both two points and three points; as for dunks, he could do in-your-face dunks, windmill dunks, reverse dunks; as for lay-ups, he could make acrobatic lay-ups to seal a game like 360 lay-ups, reverse lay-ups, kiss-the-glass lay-ups. As for Kobe Bryant’s offensive skills, there are similarities between him and Michael Jordan. Kobe Bryant is a shooting guard who could also play the small forward position (“Kobe Bryant”). He has the single-game record for 12 three pointers made(“Kobe Bryant”). He also has a very high basketball IQ because he is using his speed and athleticism to score at the basket (“Kobe Bryant”). As for shooting three pointers, Kobe Bryant has an edge over Michael Jordan, but overall offensive skills, Michael Jordan is still the man, because he is not going to be the greatest player of all time ( which was stated in nba.com) for nothing. As for basketball IQ, they are both like geniuses on how they approach the games. As for speed and athleticism, Michael Jordan is still the favorite simply because he was more gifted than Kobe Bryant.
Both players are the team’s go-to guys. Michael Jordan for Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards , and Kobe Bryant for the Los Angeles Lakers. Michael Jordan was known to the world as an effective clutch performer (“Michael Jordan”). Victory was often concluded because of his plays (e.g., The Shot) and he could still perform in times of bad conditions (e.g., Flu Game) (“Michael Jordan”). Michael Jordan was very effective when it comes to being a clutch performer. During his professional career with the Bulls and the Wizards, when the game is on the line, the player to take the shot is always him. When the game is on the line, he would always demand for the ball and most of the time he would hit the game-winning shot. One game. Back in the 80’s Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls versus the Cleveland Cavaliers. It was a very close call game, as time was ticking down, like always Michael Jordan demanded the ball , and hit the buzzer beater over Ehlo,game won, Chicago Bulls won. Michael Just had that bucket of confidence in him that’s why no matter what the situation is, he could face it calmly. Kobe Bryant is not different compared to Michael. Kobe Bryant is the most effective clutch performer today. All of the time he would demand the ball from his teammates and isolate against the opponents until the ball was out of his finger tips. For Kobe, winning is like everything and if a game is going to be crucial, he knows he has to step up for the team, hence he will take the decisive shot. A game against Dwyane Wade’s Miami Heat team, the time was draining but Kobe had the last say, hence he took a three-point shot fading away from the basket, and the shot went in-they won. Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant are those kind of players who have iron butterflies in their stomachs . They are so distinctive to other basketball players because it requires a lot of guts to take crucial shots, and these two guys just make it look so easy. Kobe Bryant is very clutch, but Michael Jordan is the clutch king of basketball.
Leadership. Michael Jordan had always been the leader of the Bulls and Wizards. He was like a coach and a court general on the floor. Michael Jordan is so at winning, he tends to get very serious during games, hence he would operate his team about plans and stuff. Back in the 90’s, there was a particular incident that had happened, this was almost a fight between Dennis Rodman and Shaquille O’neal. As a leader of the Bulls’ team, Michael Jordan vetoed his leadership by pulling Dennis away because he knew that the Bulls need Dennis, and pulling Dennis away was also a great idea because suspension is a big distraction to the team. This is how great of a leader Michael Jordan was. As for Kobe Bryant, don’t ever fool around if one plays for the Lakers especially during a game because he will definitely get down on problems that he sees; he scolds and smacks one’s head. Kobe glares at teammates when they miss a pass and stares when he never touches the ball during a possession whether or not the Lakers score (“Kobe Bryant leadership”). One blogger named Curt Schilling wrote that Kobe yelled and berated his teammates most of the time on court (“Kobe Bryant leadership”). He is in a joy mood when situations are on his side and casual mood when bad situations (“Kobe Bryant leadership”). Instead of helping the team, he is more of being contagious to the team for spreading idea like it is the team’s fault, not his (“Kobe Bryant leadership”). As for the leadership, the two great ones have different attitude on the court. The way they run their ball clubs are greatly different, Michael Jordan for being more of a nice and a holistic leader, and Kobe Bryant for being more of a leader that cares more on self interests-based on other’s opinions.
Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant are not just anybody, they are the greatest basketball players of their eras. They are great because they have great offensive skills, very effective in clutch moments, and have distinctive kind of leaderships. Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time, that is why his style of playing, particularly offensive skills, is being copied by other players. Kobe Bryant is no different, because he idolizes Michael Jordan so much, moves of Michael Jordan are seen in Kobe’s plays.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_jordan#Player_profile
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe_bryant
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/29989-the-fallacy-of-kobe-bryants-leadership
Monday, March 22, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
How to make a lay-up
Basketball is a sport that needs constant practice: basketball may be fundamentals like making a lay-up or may be difficult jump shots. Practice always plays a big factor in basketball because “practice makes perfect”. Perfectness is impossible to attain, but one can achieve nearly perfectness if and only if one practice with passion and dedication. For the association of practice, Thomas Edison once said, “1% for talent, 99% for hard work”. People are born distinctively; there are the talented ones and the average ones. Talented ones have faster pickups so they learn faster than the average ones, but even if one is talented, then not working his talent, hence it is futile. Average ones can surpass those talented ones if and only if they practice more than the talented ones practice. Look at the greatest basketball player of all time- Michael Jordan, he was that great not only because he has talents, but also because he was determined to be the best, hence he practiced like crazy. Michael Jordan once had an apology that goes like this, “sorry, I made it look so easy, you may see the good plays, but you could never see how much I put into practice.” Lay-up is the most basic so before one can dream of becoming a prolific scorer like Michael Jordan, one must start with the lay-up. The process in making a lay-up takes 11 steps and 11 steps must be dealt accordingly.
There are 11 steps for one to learn to make a lay-up. This lay-up is the simplest of the lay-ups because this type of lay-up is the foundation for other acrobatic lay-ups like reverse lay-up and not kissing the glass type of lay-up. Start the process by standing at the far right-hand edge of the free throw line (left-hand edge for lefty). This is to help one recognize how much distance should one have to be able to make the shot. Dribble the ball with one’s right or left hand. This is to help one get used to dribbling both right and left hand. Concentrate on the shooting square painted on the backboard. The upper-right corner (upper-left corner for lefty) is the most significant because it helps one where to aim the ball during shooting. Approach the basket slowly, dribbling the ball. This is for the establishment of good pacing. Stop dribbling when one is 5 to 8 feet away from the backboard. Preparing one for doing the last two steps is the purpose of this step. Pick up the ball while one is stepping with one’s right foot (or left foot for lefty). Traveling violation is a very common error in basketball, so this step is to avoid the violation, hence the step must be done at the same time. Take another step and plant one’s left foot (right foot for lefty), then jump off it. This step is to help one establish balance like yin yang, there are 50% black and 50% white because one needs the other; accuracy and precision are best at balance also. Bring one’s right knee (left knee for lefty) up toward one’s chest as one jump. Balance here is at its best because lay-up performs wonderfully at balance. Aim for the upper-right corner (upper-left corner for lefty) of the box on the backboard. Basketball (ball) is going to kiss the corner of the box on the backboard because this area is the only spot for the ball to have an easy go in. Shoot the ball with one’s right hand (left hand for lefty). This is to put enough power to the hand for it to have sufficient energy. The last step is to practice approaching the basket faster and faster until one running toward it. This is to help one make a lay-up consistently and ideally.
These 11 steps in making a lay-up must be done accordingly by not skipping one step for another. If one wishes to make it (lay-up), then one must practice a lot because success favors those people who pursue it. There is really no free lunch in this cutthroat world. Nothing in this world is free, because everything requires hardships. Hardship means that one must shed some blood, sweat, and tears on the skin; these 3 are the badges of hardship.
Lay-up may sound basic, but every player knows that it is one of the most important aspects in basketball because it may help one win a game. It takes 11 steps to fully comprehend what a lay-up is, but in order to be great at lay-up one must practice more than 11 times. There is a saying that I believe suits for basketball, ” The best works the hardest.”, so if one wants to be a great basketball player, then earn the name “basketball player” by working as hard as a basketball player would.
There are 11 steps for one to learn to make a lay-up. This lay-up is the simplest of the lay-ups because this type of lay-up is the foundation for other acrobatic lay-ups like reverse lay-up and not kissing the glass type of lay-up. Start the process by standing at the far right-hand edge of the free throw line (left-hand edge for lefty). This is to help one recognize how much distance should one have to be able to make the shot. Dribble the ball with one’s right or left hand. This is to help one get used to dribbling both right and left hand. Concentrate on the shooting square painted on the backboard. The upper-right corner (upper-left corner for lefty) is the most significant because it helps one where to aim the ball during shooting. Approach the basket slowly, dribbling the ball. This is for the establishment of good pacing. Stop dribbling when one is 5 to 8 feet away from the backboard. Preparing one for doing the last two steps is the purpose of this step. Pick up the ball while one is stepping with one’s right foot (or left foot for lefty). Traveling violation is a very common error in basketball, so this step is to avoid the violation, hence the step must be done at the same time. Take another step and plant one’s left foot (right foot for lefty), then jump off it. This step is to help one establish balance like yin yang, there are 50% black and 50% white because one needs the other; accuracy and precision are best at balance also. Bring one’s right knee (left knee for lefty) up toward one’s chest as one jump. Balance here is at its best because lay-up performs wonderfully at balance. Aim for the upper-right corner (upper-left corner for lefty) of the box on the backboard. Basketball (ball) is going to kiss the corner of the box on the backboard because this area is the only spot for the ball to have an easy go in. Shoot the ball with one’s right hand (left hand for lefty). This is to put enough power to the hand for it to have sufficient energy. The last step is to practice approaching the basket faster and faster until one running toward it. This is to help one make a lay-up consistently and ideally.
These 11 steps in making a lay-up must be done accordingly by not skipping one step for another. If one wishes to make it (lay-up), then one must practice a lot because success favors those people who pursue it. There is really no free lunch in this cutthroat world. Nothing in this world is free, because everything requires hardships. Hardship means that one must shed some blood, sweat, and tears on the skin; these 3 are the badges of hardship.
Lay-up may sound basic, but every player knows that it is one of the most important aspects in basketball because it may help one win a game. It takes 11 steps to fully comprehend what a lay-up is, but in order to be great at lay-up one must practice more than 11 times. There is a saying that I believe suits for basketball, ” The best works the hardest.”, so if one wants to be a great basketball player, then earn the name “basketball player” by working as hard as a basketball player would.
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